Standard Chartered Analyst Says Bitcoin’s Market Low May Be Near

Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, argued that bitcoin may be close to a market low after a sharp decline. According to CoinDesk, bitcoin had fallen 14% over seven days, returning to levels last seen during February’s crash, while analysts warned that a break below $60,000 could deepen the market downturn.

The call matters because it frames the sell-off around market structure rather than panic alone. Kendrick pointed to three conditions that could help define whether the worst of the move is nearly over: Strategy’s behavior after a small bitcoin sale, the resilience of U.S. spot bitcoin ETF holdings and the scale of recent futures liquidations.

On Strategy, Kendrick noted that the company sold 32 BTC last week. He compared the episode with December 2022, when Strategy sold bitcoin and then bought back more than it sold two days later. If a larger repurchase is confirmed next Monday, Kendrick said he would treat it as a tentative sign that the low is in.

ETF flows were another part of the argument. The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs saw $5 billion in net outflows over three weeks, but Kendrick said their total holdings were broadly unchanged when viewed over a longer window. CoinDesk reported that cumulative net inflows since the products launched in early 2024 stood at $54.2 billion, roughly where they had been earlier in the year.

Kendrick also argued that much of the forced selling in futures may already have happened. Bitcoin futures positions worth $1.5 billion were liquidated by exchanges, a level CoinDesk said was similar to January’s figure. Still, the analysis remains conditional: Kendrick described the setup through multiple “ifs,” and CoinDesk separately noted that past price patterns are not a guarantee of future performance.